2022-03-11 13:51:20"Theo!
Let me in.
Don't shut yourself." Vivian asked through the door.
"Go away!
If you are also going to persuade me into this, just leave." His reply made her skip a beat. She felt rejected but she wasn’t ready to give up.
She remembered the first time she met Theodore.
Theodore was 8 years old when his mother passed away. That tragedy left him with a deep scar.
He had shut himself from the world. He wouldn't even eat properly.
He also stopped talking to people. Everyone was worried to the bones, he looked like the saddest figure alive.
One day, for some work Jason was travelling to the neighbouring nation along with Vivian. On the way, they stopped in Arboria to meet Evan.
As their talk sounded boring, Vivian decided to take a stroll in the castle to see if she could find anything interesting.
While roaming through the castle Vivian found a kid alone in a corner of the library.
Alone, surrounded by books. The kid was engulfed in the pages of a book about ruins, the kid didn't even bother to see the girl standing next to him.
"We have that vase at our palace. It's spooky though but if you listen closely, you can hear the whispers of the dead."
Vivian's explanation startled him but, despite being scared, he looked rather interested.
"Is that true?
Such relics exist?" His eyes shone in curiosity. For the longest time, he waited for someone to talk about relics and ruins. His teachers and maids or almost everyone around him would try to persuade away from such things so he was glad to know there was someone out there who had the same taste.
"Yeah all of them, though not all have been found yet.
I also like to look into these things.”
Vivian sat beside him, close enough o make him blush.
Although he was a kid, he was a boy after all.
“Look at this figure, weird right, it's known to bring fortune, and this statue…"
Theodore was looking at Vivian with sparkling eyes as she kept talking about the various pictures in the book.
They spent the almost entire day talking about various things. The maids didn’t even interrupt them the whole time looking at Theo finally speaking up to someone.
Later, Jason called for her to leave for the next destination they were supposed to reach by the night.
"We are leaving now, next time when I’ll come, we’ll talk more. Okay?
Oh and I’ll bring some cool books that I have too!
Umm…" Vivian stumbled as she didn't know his name,
"It's Theodore" Evan introduced him properly but he had already fled the room with a cherry-red face.
This interested Vivian even more, she had never seen a kid like him let alone a boy. Being the only child, she grew up rather pampered but her personality was the gift of Jason, stubborn and rowdy.
Ever since then Vivian helped in many ways to make him feel relieved and also helped in his explorations.
In return she also enjoyed his company, getting to know someone of her age and talking the things she loved about, it was all so glittery glow for her.
Later, they even explored a few ruins together as well, of course secretly as he wasn't allowed to step outside the Castle walls on his own. But once they were old enough they started their secret adventures.
Unlike fairy tales, here the princess helped the prince to break through the castle, remembering all this she blushed for a moment.
.
..
"Goodness, you are forgetting something aren't you?", She took a breath and rubbed her cheek before asking.
Theodore got inquisitive, he was an easy person, especially for Vivian, "What that might be?" He replied with a sob.
‘Gosh he’s so adorable, and easy’ she showed a grin on her face.
"I am helping you find a way right?
Do you want to leave your partner in crime alone to handle your mess?
Don’t you feel a bit guilty about that?
Feel like talking now?" Vivian sounds firm this time, just a bit of action and she knew he’d fall for it.
.
There was silence for a while, then suddenly the doors unlocked.
"There you are" Vivian rushed in as it opened.
‘Success!’ She cheered to herself in her mind.
"I know about it,
but you never told me the reasons.
Idiot. Do you not trust me?” She began scolding him the moment she entered, for a moment Theo felt he had done a big mistake.
“Huh, whatever,
look, as much as I know, Oracles are always true but, as it says, the future is uncertain?
Then why are you scared?
Moreover, if it named you a saviour, at least stop running away from it.
It won't do any good."
As Vivian kept confronting him, Theodore seemed to relax a bit.
It was more like he was getting more and more flustered.
‘So...So close’ She was sitting right next to him while ruffling his hair like he was her younger sibling.
With a little low tone and flustered expression he replied, "I am not a saviour.
Don't even look like one.
I never wanted to be the Crown Prince as well.
Can I not be who I am and still be helpful enough?
My brother's an excellent warrior, why name me over him?
Even Merida is a hundred times better than me.” When he said so his words felt like he meant it, Vivian couldn’t help but look at her with sadness.
He was bearing too much with a smile on his face.
“I really can't understand Oracles.
And what weapon?" Theodore got angry all of a sudden. He’d always act so whenever he didn’t understand anything, Vivian knew this very well.
She stayed quiet for the moment before replying.
.
..
"That we can look into later together, right?
I’m your partner in crime as well!
For now, the guard brought your meal, finish it so that I could go and eat as well.” She brought the plate that the guard was held at the entrance of his room,
“You don’t want a girl to stay hungry for your selfishness, or do you?” She looked at him narrowing her eyes.
Looking at her posture, how could he let it be! A beautiful girl asking to eat in such a cute way, he felt his heart melt!
‘Easy!’ She thought to herself in her mind, after all her charm paid off well!
Handing over the plate to him she sat next to him, to ensure he ate it all!
“Oh, and I found some new maps of an ancient ruin you were talking about.
If you eat, I'll tell you.
Deal?" She had this smug face, looking at which Theo was a bit scared, ‘Why does she look like a negotiator, wait she is negotiating. And so good at that.’
Theodore could hardly say no to her and nodded in agreement.
"I'll finish it, don't worry, you go and eat with everyone else.
They'd badmouth you otherwise.” He looked a little low when he said so,
“Will they now?” He could sense fire around her as she replied,
“You know how these nobles are, corrupt and drowned in filth." Theo's tongue turned a bit sharp to which Vivian laughed and replied,
"I know, I know.
Well, I will go then, come meet me in the library once you are finished okay?
And don’t worry about anyone talking ill about me for staying with you, I’ll just punch them all!"
He gave her a nod in agreement.
After seeing for herself that he was eating she turned around to leave his room.
"Vivi, thanks a lot.
I owe you even more now."
Theodore's words made her blush, her heart began beating faster, she stormed out of the door without even replying.
She could feel her heart beating louder and louder.
.
…
"Did he eat?"
The sudden unknown voice made Vivian literally jumped making a little squeak.
She looked around to see Merida questioning her from her behind.
"You!
When did you…" Vivian got interrupted as Merida burst into laughter.
"Ha ha ha ha, that's an interesting look.
I'm a mage Vivi, I can sneak anywhere without anyone noticing.” She replied with a proud expression, her short figure was mostly the reason no one noticed her.
“Well, did he?
Or wait, did you feed him with your hands?
Aww, I missed something really good!" Merida asked her while casually grabbing her hand and rubbing her palms.
"W… Wh… What?
N… No, how could I have… No, I didn't"
Vivi replied with a cherry-red face to which Merida again started laughing.
“Besides he won’t let me!” She murmured to herself,
"Interesting," Merida replied while controlling her laughter.
"I'll be at the dining sister Merida, see you"
Vivian walked past her while hiding her face, successfully escaping.
"Yeah, anyways,
Vivi!" Merida stopped Vivian,
"Thanks for helping him with his happiness. We are all grateful for you"
She sounded serious this time.
Vivian replied with a gentle bow, still hiding her flustered look and left the hallway.
.
As she left Merida touched the door gently. With a heavy feeling surging up in her chest she murmured, "Brother if only there was a way…"
Previous Chapter
Related Chapters
Burning Soul An introduction to the Ruins long forgotten
"I'm sorry for leaving with such rude manners,I hope I am not being a bother to you all." Vivian apologized to all at dining with a bow.She looked no less beautiful than a goddess. The posture and her manner almost blushed everyone.With her charm, she was able to pull Jason out of the awkward situation."Don't let it concern you, Lady Vivian and even your father have been attending us.What more could we ask?"One of the nobles replied to which she nodded."With that being said, Brother Nicholas, what did he gift you?What good luck charm you talked about?" Vivian asked while sitting on her chair.
Burning Soul To the Ruins, we go!
The following day, before anyone could wake, Theodore tried to sneak out of the palace.He quietly left the room and walked towards the end of the hallway.He pushed the door and tried to peek,but just as he thought he was clear, a pair of hands suddenly grabbed him from behind and pulled him back."You think you can make a fool out of me?You are still a kid to me, stupid." He was startled by being found out by his sister,again."Theo, you need to find something new to try.Well,I assume your ‘Great Escape’ is unsuccessful
Burning Soul And there, he appeared!
In the forest, Theodore was running hurriedly.Something big was chasing him."Damn these beasts,weren't they supposedly dead?How the hell…?".As he complained the creature that was chasing him was closing in. Its roar trembled the forest with fear.That creature was none other than an 'Astral Beast'..As it suggests, the 'Astral Beasts' were life-forms from another plane. Encountering one into one battle was no joke as the creature was extremely powerful. Life beyond the mortal realm was really twisted and no one had a clear idea about anything.
Burning Soul It was as if Death walked right through!
As the stranger said 'Death', all of the soldiers burst in laughter."Captain,death…Ha Ha Ha,death he says…" One of them tried to humor the caption while controlling his laughter.Theodore, who was on the ground, felt his threat a bit weird, no one in their right mind would willingly go against the soldiers who were trained to kill."Let me relieve you of your misery poor bastard." The one soldier who put the blade on his neck said with a sinister look.Others were also not at guard as the person seemed just like any stranger.Without giving much thought, he raised his sword in the air again to chop his neck.
Burning Soul A halo that spoke?
In the Dungeon, two shadows were speedily running through the caves.From the outside, it looked like a normal cave.The sturdy ruins spoke for the entrance but it was just an entrance, inside the Dungeon wasn’t lined with stone walls but was kept rather raw. As they went further inside, they came to understand that it was by no means any ordinary Dungeon.It was dark and cold inside, and the walls were moist. The wall was lined with crystals and they shone vibrantly in a dazzling way, but that shine wasn’t a lot to guide anyone through.They also encountered various traps, then there was a complex maze-like formation with drywalls and also had a relatively high temperature..After walking for about an hour
Burning Soul Secrets of the Plane
"You", as both of them cursed, the ghost on the throne opened its eyes and looked at them.The ghost had a very familiar face, in fact, Theodore knew that person.It was one of the first seven Gods of Balarukh and was once the king of Arboria. He was the one who sacrificed his divine powers to seal off the demons in hell.He was Constantine, the God of wisdom they called him.Both, Theodore and Aeneas, were startled by this revelation. They never expected to find such a mysterious being.After hesitating a bit they both went close to the throne. There were no traps the whole room had no trace of magic or any sort of sorcery..…"It mig
Burning Soul Union
“Creek…!”The door opened making a creek, it was a big, heavy and partially rotten door, of course, it would make some sound.As the door opened, both of them rushed in.Theo knew that the door won't be open all the time, as well the company he had was a bit suspicious as well.While keeping all these thoughts aside, he sped up in that room.As they kept moving forward, there was a certain force that was pulling them in. It was as if someone was pulling them towards the centre of the room,When they finally reached the core, there was a strange radiance emitting from a box. Along with that box, there was the statue as well.Theo unhesitantly took the statue, but he c
Burning Soul Invasion
As they were on their way back, Theodore and Vivian with the help of Merida teleported all the way from the ruins to the entrance of the forest, saving a whole day's worth of journey. "Damn, if only I could hold more Mana, we'd have been home right now." Merida cursed while trying to catch her breath. It was possible for her to travel to the castle on her own, but as she had two more people along with her, the mana consumption was rather great, making her range lower than her expectation. She wasn't a legendary powerhouse yet and thus had the disadvantage of having lower mana. . "Sis, it can't be helped, we should hurry up and travel on foot," Vivian suggested. It was a rather good option as the flying carpet Merida could summon would have consumed a great number of resources and although it didn't look like it, Vivian and Theodore had very good dexterity allowing them to run freely through the forest, and Merida with her powers could easily manoeuvre through as well. The
Latest Chapter
King's Assembly
…They were taken to the hall by the sentinels.As they had heard of, sentinels were giant armoured beastmen, that armour looked like the toughest thing in the world.Being hauled by them, no one had a chance of escaping.At his palace at the heart of Arnor, all the intruders were presented in the main hall in front of their overseer!One could tell from long who was the lord here.As per tales, he surely was quite charming and taller than others in the hall.He wasn’t wearing any crown, but he didn't even need one.“Here, father! One of them was carrying this.&rdqu
Vijaya!
…“Argh! I’m here to take you home little sister!What are you doing with these filths?You have better things to do!”Arlo spoke to Naomi completely ignoring everyone else.Theo was standing beside Ember with a shocked expression,“How dare you do that?”He started boiling up as shock transformed into anger,After all, he had shot Ember mercilessly!“Did you say something?Ah!
Heading in the Lair
The next morning everyone was ready at the given time making it easier for them to leave without gaining attention!They left the cart and the horse behind any further and it'd be a beacon for Duvrion’s forces.Theo along with Ember and Luna took to the sky after leaving the Village, as for Vivian, Nuae, and Catherine, they had taken their route which was from another side of the village.Ember and Theo were keeping an eye on Aeneas and Naomi as Aeneas had asked so, the region they were to travel to was filled with guards and it was a relatively highly secure area, though they had no other opening to enter and thus had to enter from there.Of course, Vivian’s team was informed to contact if anything went south.It
The Inn
…As planned Theo along with Ember arrived at the Inn.It was more like a tavern with beds to sleep, but for their low-key adventure, it was perfect.Before entering he noticed the cart which Aeneas and others were traveling in! The cart was a mess with all the mud around, it looked worked out.He slowly opened the door of the Inn to enter and the first thing he saw was Aeneas being tied up in the corner with a piece of cloth stuffed in his mouth,looking all guilty.The girl at the reception was also terrified for some reason, not to mention the other people had a baffled look on their faces.His si
Luna!
...Ember's soul was fading, her divinity diminishing bit by bit. Though Eleanor was a goddess, she couldn't deny the harsh truth: her power was severely limited on the primal plane. Earlier, she had nearly exhausted all her strength to halt the enemy....Eleanor had been blessed with divinity, but after living on the primal plane for so long, her divine powers had waned. Her diminishing divinity was the source of this weakness. She barely had enough to sustain herself, but now she saw no other option.'Looks like this is the only way! I might not be able to see you again, Serena! I'm sorry to break our promise!'With these thoughts, she stood up and closed her eyes. In a few moments, a small halo hovered in fr
The Moon Goddess!
… The scene was quite messy. Ember was pinned on the ground soaked in her own blood as an invisible force made sure she didn’t move a bit, while one guy sat on her and tried to rip apart her while the other stayed guard! The tables had turned for the worse now, just one move and Belphegor managed to rip off her clothes revealing her bare skin. He grabbed her chest and poked his craws in causing a stream of blood to peek out and slide by. Her eyes widened by the horror she was facing, “Got some strange clothes on you, enchanted, oh! How great I feel, how great how great how gr
Flashback!
As she was being humiliated, she could only think of the short time she spent with her master and his companions, … Last night in the dungeon, a delicate yet fierce dragon was tamed. “Are you my master?” This was where her journey began yet again. She was a dragon who had transformed into Mortal form baffling everyone, especially Vivian, Vivian started murmuring to herself, “Master! &nbs
Hello there!
… Asking his leave, she walked past him into the bushes nearby, unaware of the danger, Theo was still eating up his portion. She walked a while and stood to look around as she clenched her fists tightly. “Looks like we’ve got ourselves a clever one” A voice came from nearby bushes. “Hmm! Looks like the little one doesn’t want us to get the man! No problem, No no no no no problem is what I feel! Such a young beauty is worth a hundred men, how delightful the day is being to us! My brain, my body, and my soul is slipping! I fear we might not get such prey again.” This time the voice came from a seemingly old guy who was wearing a long hood and held a wooden stick, it loo
The Ride
“Whoa! Everything looks so small from up here!”, Theo was enjoying his ride. From here he could see a vast area of forest and lots of water springs. He was even able to see birds flying way below them! “Right Master! If not for them we could have reached the destination by ourselves!” Ember replied with pride. “Hmm, but we aren't sure about the location and we shouldn’t leave them behind as well, we might need to warn them if something comes up! And one more thing.” As he replied she slowed a bit to hear him clearly, “Can you not call me ‘Master!’, It feels a bit weird. People might think you are a slave or something and I don’t want that, besides it’s a bit embarrassing.” Hearing him she chuckled a bit before replying,<
